Improvement in lanterns



s. H. MILLER.

- Lantern.

Patented April 13, 1875.

SAM HOUSTON MILLER, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND JESSEE. FOLK, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN LANTERNS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 162,090, dated April13, 1875; application filed February 19, 18': 5.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, SAM HOUSTON IVIILLER, ofBrooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Lanterns; and I do hereby declare.that the following is a full,- clear, and exact description of thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, which forms partof this specification.

Figure 1 represents an outside elevation of a lantern constructed inaccordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the line90 0c, and Fig. 3 a vertical section on the line y y. Fig. 4 is ahorizontal section, in part and upon a larger scale, of the lamp and itsstand or base portion of the lantern, to gether with a spring forholding the lamp in place. Fig. 5 is a view in perspective of thebayonet-fastening used to connect the body of the lantern with the base.Fig. 6 is a face or top view of one of the intermediate annular guardsused in the construction of the body or frame of the lantern; and Fig.7,a transverse section thereof on a larger scale. Figs. 8 and 9 aresectional elevations at right angles to each other, in illustration of aspecial construction of the top ring of the frame and of the lid oropening and closing top of the lantern, or either, to provide for acertain connection of the upright wires with the top ring of the frame.Fig. 10 is a vertical section, likewise upon alarger scale, of theopening and closing top and of the upper ring of the frame, with meansfor holding the former to the'latter, including a spring-catch of novelconstruction; and Fig. 11, a view of said spring-catch in its relationwith the frame and lid or top of the lantern, detached for moreperfectly illustrating thelocking action of the catch.

This invention more particularly relates to railroad hand-lanterns forsignaling purpose, but in certain features is also applicable to otherlanterns and the invention consists in certain novel constructions ofdetails, whereby increased lightness, security, chcapness ofconstruction, and strength are combined.

In the accompanying drawing the main body or frame of the lantern is ofskeleton construction, and incloses or guards a glass shade, B. Saidframe is composed of a top cap or ring,

O, formed with an exteriorlower head or turned flange, b, a baseportion, D, intermediate annular guards E, and upright wires F,connecting the top cap or ring 0, the base portion D, and theintermediate annular guards E. To obtain a more secure connection thancan possibly be attained by merely soldering the upper ends of theuprights F to the top cap or ring O, said uprights have their upperends, which are of hook form, as at 0, passed through the ring O, andmade to engage with or hook over the bead b of the top cap or ring C. Toprevent this mode of connecting the upright wires with the top cap orring C from interfering with the close tit of the opening and closingtop or ventilating-lid G of the lantern over the top cap or ring 0 anddown on the head I), a cavity or space, d, is formed in said beadportion of the cap O, or in the lower edge or flange portion of theopening and closing top G, or in both, for reception of the upper hookedportions of the uprights F, between the upper cap or ring 0 of the mainframe and the opening and closing top G. Such cavity or space d isformed by indenting or crooking either or both of the meeting edges ofthe top Gr and cap or ring 0. The opening and closing top G is hinged,as at f, to the cap or ring 0, and is provided with the usual bail S, bywhich the lantern is swung or carried. Inasmuch as the lantern is thuscarried by its top G, it is highly important that the latter, whenclosed, should form a firm and secure lock with the cap 0 or upperportion of the main frame. I therefore construct and protect thespring-catch H, which fastens the opening portion of the lid or top Gr,substantially as follows: The locking crook or bend g and hollow h ofthe spring-catch are constructed so that when the spring-catch flies toits place to hold the lid G down on the top Y extrapull or strain on thelid Gr to open it, whether produced by swinging the lantern orotherwise, will exert a tendency to still further tighten the hold ofthe catch by springing the latter so that its hollow h is made to moreor less receive the bead b, and the crook g be caused to pass upwardwithin the cap 0. It, therefore, will be necessary to specially springthe catch H outward by hand before the lid G can be opened. To preventthe catch h from being jerked too far outward, andso endangerin g itsbreakage or impairing its efficiency, I attach to the lid G a guard, I,arranged to project over the back or outside of the catch, but exemptfrom contact with the latter, except when the catch is sprung outwardsufficiently to admit of the lid Gr being opened. Said guard I then actsas a stop to the catch, and is a protection against violent or roughmanipulation of it. The intermediate annular guards E are constructedwith a special regard to lightness and strength. Th us, instead of eachannular guard being made of a single solid wire of circular form andunited at its ends by a tip, it is constructed hollow and of two rings,i k, the one, 1", of which is incased by the other, 76, and without anytransverse joint, at least as regards the outer one k, said rings beingmade by striking up sheet metal into the form of a hollow ring, havingits joint or meeting edges longitudinalthat is, throughout thecircumference of the ring. The absence of a transverse joint in thecompound ring or annular guard makes the latter less liable to open whenin place. In some cases the inner ringz' might, however, be solid and ofwire, having a transverse joint, but it is preferred to construct bothcomponent parts or rings 6 7c alike, as shown in Fig. 7, and so to makea hollow and light structure or guard, the one ring ineasing and beingformed around the other, both when the two rings are made hollow andwhen the outer one only is so constructed.

The bayonet-fastening, by which the body of the lantern is connectedwith the base or stand thereof, is of peculiar construction. Thus, it iscomposed of a slot, J, in the upper ring of the base K, arrangedcireumterenti ally in relation with said ring, but closed on all itssides or edges, and an outward crook .or bend, Z, made in the'ring,extending from the upper edge of the latter down to the one end of theslot. This construction provides for the passage of the stud orprojection m attached to the base portion D of the body down to andwithin, or without andup from, the slot J, to fasten and unfasten thebody and base, without cutting through the upper edge of the ring of thebase K, thereby greatly adding to the strength of said base or stand. Ofcourse, there may be any number of these bayonetfastenings arrangedaround the base. The action of them is similar to that of otherbayonet-fastenings, the crooks or bends I being the important novelfeature of construction in this case.

The springs L, by which the lamp M is held to its place in the base orstand K, are of arched or curvilinear construction in their transversesection, as seen more clearly in Fig. 4:. This construction of thesprings adds materially to their strength and preservation of theirform.

I claim- 1. The combination, with the cap or ring 0, having a flange, b,and rigidly supported at the top of the shade of a lantern by verticalwires F, of the ventilating top G hinged to said cap or ring, andprovided with the springcatch H, constructed with the hollow h and bendg, for engaging with the fixed cap or ring, substantially as and for thepurpose described.

2. The combination of the lantern-body, having the hinged lid G and thecap-ring 0, provided with a head, I), and series of notches cl, with theuprights F, having the hooked ends a passing through the notches in thecapring, for engaging with the head I), as and for the purposesdescribed.

3. The annular guards E, constructed of a hollow outer ring having itsjoint concentric with its circumference, and an inner ring incased bythe outer ring, substantially as described.

SAM H. MILLER. Witnesses:

BENJAMIN W. HOFFMAN, FRED HAYNES.

